Mason Detrani

Artist Statement

I became interested in photography about a year ago, as the isolation of the pandemic prompted me to consider new creative outlets. This course gave me the spark I needed to fully engage with the medium by using my phone camera to explore and experiment. To me, photography is a form of art like no other. There is a certain beauty in the fact that each photograph inherently maintains a balance between objectivity and subjectivity. I find it fascinating that no two people share an identical interpretation of any shot. Photography is just as much a form of expression as any other art form. It is a unique way for people to express themselves through their subjective perception of the reality that we all share.

I developed a style of shooting that gradually evolved over the duration of the course. Even though some of my work may appear to follow a certain theme, I do not actively seek shots that allude to a set motif. I capture what intrigues me. Some of my favorite photographs, however, are those that explore the interaction between the natural and the artificial. In our lifetime, buildings can appear eternal, but in the long term, nature always takes over—a reality that drives my passion for taking pictures.

—Mason Detrani, Hamden High School

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